One Hundred Pieces of Advice

One hundred treasured pieces of advice extracted from the writings of the illustrious scholar, Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy upon him):

• Ten ways to acquire Allah's love
• Ten ways to be patient and avoid sins
• Ten ways to be patient during a calamity
• Ten benefits of lowering your gaze
• Ten ways sins are expiated
• Ten barriers between the slave and his Lord
• Ten reasons knowledge is not put into action
• Ten ways to open your heart
• Ten ways to protect against envy
• Ten ways to protect against the plots of the Shaytan

Why Grouped in Tens

Because Ibn al-Qayyim's genius across his major works is frequently the same move made here in miniature: taking a single spiritual reality and enumerating, with real specificity, the many ways it is reached or the many effects it produces.

A reader told once that patience is important forgets it by the following week. A reader given ten concrete ways to practice patience during calamity has something to actually return to.

Why This Format Suits a First Encounter With Ibn al-Qayyim

His major works — on the heart, on patience, on the causes of relief from distress — run to hundreds of pages each. This collection distills the same spirit and much of the same content into short, numbered points that can be read a group of ten at a time.

Who It Is For

Anyone new to Ibn al-Qayyim's writing, and anyone who wants concentrated, practical advice rather than a lengthy treatise.

Related Reading

• Trials and Tribulations — Ibn Al-Qayyim on trials and their benefits
• Remembrance of the Most Merciful — the same author on remembrance
• Winning the War Within: The Heart, the Self, Angels & Devils — the heart, the self, angels and devils